If you’ve ever watched the TV show Come Dine with Me, you’ll know how challenging it is to impress guests. Nothing you do ever seems to make them say “Wow.” But that’s where this post can help. It looks at some of the tactics and strategies you can implement to make your food spread more attractive and appealing to the people you invite over. Who knows, they might even want to come back for more!
Variety
The best approach to making your guests like your spread is to provide your guests with variety. Giving them a bit of everything reduces their grounds for complaint. Even if the salmon with cream sauce and potatoes aren’t quite what they want, they can always try the honey-glazed ham hock or the profiteroles.
Cultural Relevance
It can also sometimes help if you consider the cultural relevance of your food. For example, you could adorn them with Mediterranean appetizers if they’re from Europe, or dim sum if from China. These changes can feel forced, but people often welcome them (if they notice them at all). Most people would rather eat something they like again than try something new and risk disappointment.
Seasonality
Taking advantage of fresh food can also be helpful. Produce almost always tastes better when it is in season.
You can find out what’s hot right now by checking out your local farmer’s market. The produce on sale there is often grown nearby and transported only a few miles to market. You can also look it up online, though this tends to be less reliable. Most packaging should tell you where the food came from, but it doesn’t always.
Dietary Restrictions
Guests’ disappointment can also emerge from their dietary restrictions. Many won’t eat certain foods because of health conditions or other issues that affect them. To deal with this problem, ask guests what their dietary restrictions are before they arrive. See if you can provide them with meals and healthy food that they appreciate.
Another reason people can dislike your spread is simply how it looks. It might taste fantastic and be made with seasonal produce, but if it is shabby, messy, or unappetizing, it won’t appeal to them. You can improve your spread’s aesthetics with ideas online. Fanning out salad leaves and arranging hors d’oeuvres neatly on cocktail sticks can change how they perceive the taste of the food. It’s strange, but it’s true.
Overthinking
Finally, you can get yourself into trouble when you overthink your spread. Trying to please everyone often means you aren’t paying full attention to the essential elements. One of the most successful strategies is simply to prepare tried-and-tested food you know works. You don’t have to do anything particularly fancy. If there’s something that everyone you know loves, then the chances are high that your fussy guests will share the same opinions. For example, most people are satisfied with BBQ or spit-roasted meat. The cooking methods are so effective that the food tastes great by itself and doesn’t require many embellishments to make it more appetizing.
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